World Bank to finance $109 mln highway construction in Georgia's winemaking Kakheti province
Additionally to the KCIP, the Georgian Government will build the first three sections of this corridor from Tbilisi to Sagarejo, expected to be operational by 2025, “using similar design, construction, fiduciary, and environmental and social safeguard approaches as that of the Bank-financed section,” the World Bank said. Photo: ituc-csi.org
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World Bank will finance the $109 million construction project for a 17-km, four-lane, access-controlled highway in the Eastern Georgia’s winemaking region of Kakheti to facilitate connection between the province and the capital Tbilisi as part of the country’s highway network.
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved the Kakheti Connectivity Improvement Project (KCIP) on Tuesday, financing the construction of the highway section between the towns of Sagarejo and Badiauri, as part of the Tbilisi-Bakurtsikhe-Lagodekhi highway corridor connecting Kakheti with Tbilisi and the rest of Georgia.
Additionally to the KCIP, the Georgian Government will build the first three sections of this corridor from Tbilisi to Sagarejo, expected to be operational by 2025, “using similar design, construction, fiduciary, and environmental and social safeguard approaches as that of the Bank-financed section,” the World Bank said.
The project aims at increasing freight traffic in Kakheti and making the distance between the region and the capital “shorter and safer,” calling Kakheti a “major agricultural production centre, and the most important wine-producing and exporting region with significant tourism attraction and growth potential.” The KCIP also intends to contribute to the Georgian economic recovery from the global pandemic by creating jobs and facilitating income generation for local traders.
With this project, the World Bank supports Georgia’s aspiration to become a regional transit hub,” Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, commented on the projects, noting “High-capacity highways are a critical facilitator of Georgia’s economic growth, as they provide firms across industries with more efficient access to markets.”
Irakli Karseladze, the Georgian Infrastructure Minister, said the KCIP would advance the development of the region to a “higher level,” emphasising the importance of the project for Kakheti’s infrastructural, logistical, agricultural and economic development.
The bank has allocated $407 million for rehabilitation of secondary and local roads network, amounting to over $1 billion investment over the last 16 years. Since 2006 and in partnership with the Georgian Government, it has collectively mobilised $2 billion for developing the country’s national highway network.
World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Sebastian Molineus has stated earlier today that Georgia can be a strong leader ‘not only in the region but globally as well’ in regional connectivity and integration following the meeting with the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Anna Bjerde has stated that many reforms particularly in human capital development and formation of a more green and digitised recovery will be ‘very promising for Georgia in the years to come.’
The World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bjerde, who is visiting Georgia, has announced that the World Bank is eager to participate in the development of a new strategy for Georgia after the meeting with the Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili today.
The Georgian economy is projected to grow 6% in 2021, 5% in 2022 and again 5% in 2023, says the June edition of the World Bank’s report Global Economic Prospects 2021.
World Bank will allocate $400 million for the Human Capital Programme for Georgia, calling it “the largest cross-sectorial investment” for the country over 30 years of partnership.
Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister, and Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, signed a €358,500 million agreement for the Human Capital Programme for Georgia on Wednesday.
An agreement on the construction of a 17-km, four-lane, access-controlled highway in eastern Georgia’s winemaking region of Kakheti was signed between the Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili and the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, Sebastian Molineus, earlier today.
Georgia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a deal on a $289 million programme for macroeconomic and financial stability of the country, the IMF mission chief James John announced on Friday.
Construction is underway for the Kvesheti-Kobi road and tunnel section in Georgia’s north, with the section forming a part of the North-South corridor in the central part of the country.
A complete renovation of Metekhi Bridge, one of the oldest bridges in Tbilisi, will be launched this month, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced on Wednesday.
Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister, will take part in annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in the United States, the Ministry announced on Monday.
Georgian authorities and World Bank representatives on Monday discussed the Country Economic Memorandum drafted by the international institution, the Georgian Finance Ministry announced.
The Georgian Infrastructure Ministry on Wednesday said the China Road and Bridge Corporation, the contractor company for a road rehabilitation project in the country’s western Guria region, had been fined ₾1.7 million ($629,664) for failing to fulfil the terms of the deal in three sections of the road.
Travel time from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi to the central part of the country’s eastern Kakheti region will be reduced to one hour and 20 minutes thanks to a new highway that is due to become operational over the next two years, the ministry of infrastructure announced on Thursday.
A 16.6 km road between the village of Bakurtsikhe and the town of Tsnori in eastern Georgia’s Kakheti region will improve transport infrastructure for Alazani lowlands villages, the roads department of Georgia announced on Wednesday.